The authentic Italian dining experience makes you think of dim candlelight, background Italian opera music and the pasta of your wildest dreams.
FICO Eataly World is probably the exact opposite of that.
The park, open since 2017, is rests perfectly in the middle of a sliding scale comparing Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot.
Yes, there are Eatalys in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, but that’s like comparing Disney World to Disneyland. Each location gives you a subtly different yet impressionably distinct experience.
FICO Eataly World, located in Bologna, Italy, is an ode to Italy’s towering influence over cuisine.
The agro-food park covers than 2 hectares (about the size of two soccer fields) in land. It focuses on the entire part of the food-making process, from the cultivation of plants and animals to the culinary masterpieces that the various restaurants churn out to visitors.
Getting to the park is relatively easy. All you need to do it buy a TPER, what the bus system is called, ticket for the FICO line from one of the kiosks within Bologna Centrale and wait at one of the two stops across the street that say FICO. (They will be labeled – so if it doesn’t say FICO, you need a different bus stop.)
The bus tickets are 5 euro to get there, and 7 euro for a round trip. If you and three (or more) of your closest friends are down to eat your hearts out, then you can book a group fee (5 euro per head) online.
There are also options to buy the FICO bus pass with some combination of Bologna city bus access, be sure to consider your options carefully when you’re at the bus ticket kiosk – don’t let yourself get too intimidated if a short line forms behind you.
The busses arrive every half hour from 9:30 a.m. to midnight. And yes, you can manage to spend that much time in the park. Between the eating, shopping and educational aspects, you essentially have your whole day ready to go.
But, I bet you’re starting to get concerned about the number of things to do and your limit time and budget. Well, don’t worry any longer! FICO Eataly World has no entry fee. In fact, if you want to rent one of the cute blue bicycles to ride around the park, that’s free too!
Yes, the bike is a good idea if you’re planning on eating and buying a lot of carbs. They’re super delightfully adorable and come with a decent amount of carrying space for your things. If you want to rent one, just talk to someone at the entrance desk and be sure to return your bike to the area where you first picked it up.
Of course, since all that exercise and planned eating may seem daunting, the park also has several comfortable seating areas. These are not attached to the restaurants either, so you don’t have to feel guilty about not buying anything from one of those places before sitting down.
Now that you know how to get to the park and how to get around within the park, let’s talk more about the park itself.
The park offers several classes and experiences daily. It also contains educational carousels, which are essentially an exhibit in a children’s museum. (Which means it’ll take the right amount of concentration to read. You can’t forget that the main purpose of being there is to eat until your stomach cannot handle any more.)
FICO Eataly World also has a few outside exhibits. Since the park dedicates itself to teaching about the entire process of food-making, there are several livestock and cultivation exhibits.
When the park says that it makes and sells a product, it means that it really does make the product there.
For example, the park has a truffle cultivation building. It also sells dried truffles and other truffle products. The same goes for the vineyard and wine and the fruit trees and jams. I cannot confirm if the same applies to the seafood section.
Finally, the part that you (and I) have been waiting for: the restaurants.
FICO Eataly World had 40 restaurants within it. if you got on that first bus at 9:30 a.m. and left on the last bus back at midnight, then you’d have to eat at four and a half new places every hour.
The restaurants range from casual fruit food trucks to high-end seafood dining experiences. There’s a pizzeria and a place that specializes in pasta. There’s a gelato store, a pastry store and a beer stand.
Basically, if you can think about a type of Italian food, there’s a specialized place for it here.
“I ate three different pasta dishes in four hours,” Joe, from San Francisco, said. “It’s insane.”
The restaurants tend to be located on the outer perimeters of the park. The products you can buy tend to be in the middle. If you want to buy something, you have to pay for it at the nearest restaurant – do not just walk around with the products because the employees will not find you amusing.
But if you’re worried that the biking (or walking) won’t be enough exercise to counteract all the food you ate/are going to eat, don’t worry. FICO Eataly World also contains indoor volleyball nets, along with some other sports.
If you managed to convince your three closest friends to go with you earlier, then take a short rest from the food to burn off some of your calorie intake.
Since the park is so large – and kind of oddly shaped – there are several maps located within the building.
Be sure to get yourself oriented so you don’t spend half an hour walking in the wrong direction (like I did – don’t worry, I still had the most enjoyable experience and learned more about tomatoes than I thought I would ever care to).
“I actually was here last week,” Joe said. “I came back to Bologna [from Venice] just so I could come here again.”